There was a time when I relished being the youngest in the room. As a millennial, I grew up perusing Sailor Moon fan sites and searching for the answers to life’s big questions on Ask Jeeves. I took pride in being part of a cohort that helped popularize internet lingo like “Facebook friend” and “Twitter follower.” I would face off with older bosses and family members, challenging their outdated ideas about acceptable career paths and social justice issues. I’d tease baby boomers who couldn’t seem to learn how to take screenshots on their phones. 

As I got older, I realized that youth was not something I would always have, but a luxury I was losing my grip on. The year after my thirtieth birthday coincided with the start of a quarter-life crisis. I questioned whether I should be meeting—or striving for—what a friend once called ...